My Heart Beats Only for You
by AdmiralFirestorm
Summary: Sequel to "An Old Friend Returns" and Prequel to "Trying to Come Back". Seto Kaiba drove Serenity Wheeler away from him in fear two years ago in an act of rage. The once mighty CEO has fallen into a depression from which escape seems impossible. Yet it seems a spark still exists between the two. Kaiba's Heart is reduced but it still beats, but only for Serenity Wheeler. S.K. x S.W.


**AdmiralF.: Greetings und Bienvenue Frau's und Fraulines! Now I know many of you who have been reading my stuff have probably been wondering why I suddenly stopped updating Trying to Come Back, well its because I left out a little too much background information to it. Now this is the Prequel to "Trying to Come Back" and the Sequel to the second story I ever published on Fanfiction "An Old Friend Returns" and includes characters from that story and in much later chapters, characters will appear that are in Trying to Come Back. If you have not at least read AN OLD FRIEND RETURNS I do not recommend reading this before that since you will be lost by a fair amount of the detail here. Not saying you wont get it but there are a few things that would not be understandable without first knowing the Background story. In any Case this story starts at exactly two years and six months after the events of AN OLD FRIEND RETURNS and will probably end about a month before the start of TRYING TO COME BACK.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or anything related to such **

**CHARACTER AGES:**

**Seto Kaiba: 20 years Old**

**Serenity Wheeler: 19 years Old**

**Joey Wheeler: 20 years Old**

**Mai Valentine: 20 years Old**

**Yugi Muto: 20 years Old**

**Tea Gardener: 19 years Old**

**Tristan Taylor: 20 years Old**

**Duke Devlin: 20 years Old**

**Robert Barry: 20 years Old**

**Angeline Lily's: 19 1/2 years Old**

**John Barry: 19 years Old**

**Peter Barry: 19 years Old**

**Yami: Even I don't know. Too much math involved in that one so for the sake of it I'll say in his mortal form, 22 years Old**

**Mokuba Kaiba: 19 years Old**

**Rebecca Hawkins: 19 years Old**

**Ryou Bakura: 20 years Old**

**Solomon Muto: 65 years Old**

**Katazuma Muto (Yugi's Dad, Author created Character): 42 years Old**

**Akira Muto (Yugi's Mom, Author created Character): 41 years Old**

**Jesse Wheeler (Serenity and Joey's Cousin; He was shown in an Episode of Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's): 23 years Old**

**And so many more characters!**

* * *

"OUT NOW!" Seto Kaiba shouted at the three remaining investors at the Conference Table, which was littered by shattered and spilled coffee cups, tattered and torn contracts and deals, and the tears of about six of the twenty investors Kaiba had invited. The three grabbed their hats and fled the office at flank speed. Kaiba was seething with rage and fury as he broke the pen he was holding in his hand in half from sheer fury. Except, nothing in the meeting had happened to make him angry, in fact he had started being angry for no apparent reason half way through when his company had gained 14.5 million dollars in contracts and several new deals. After that it went down hill and six investors left, having been reduced to tears, only several minutes after Kaiba became insane with fury.

Only one person was left at the table, Robert Barry, CEO of Barry Industries which rivaled Kaiba Corporation in size, profit, technology, and productivity, and originally or rather seven years ago for five years Robert had hated Kaiba and even tried to kill him. But that was incurred by a Roman Spirit inside his Millennium Ring which was made in Rome but to avoid confusion, after the Spirit left Robert began calling it the Centurion Ring. In fact before that Robert and Seto had been something akin to best friends, having known each other in the orphanage where Seto and Mokuba were because they had no parents and Robert and his brothers because of a scheme by their greedy uncle. Since the spirit left, Robert and Seto have become great friends and great business partners once more. Robert had been invited to this meeting to renew the contracts Kaiba Corporation had with Barry Industries and secure some new investors. Instead the meeting was changed to the rage channel on which the fury show was currently airing.

Robert began to clap sarcastically as he grinned like such as well and stood up giving Seto a nice round of applause. Robert had blonde almost golden colored hair which he kept at moderate length so that it fell down in an arrow shape over his left eye, this coupled with his deep emerald green eyes and healthily tanned skin along with an athletic build, made him the adoration of many of the girls at Domino High School. He currently wore a pristine white suit coupled with a blue tie, with black Armani loafers and the letters B.I. embroidered in red on the lapel of his suit. Robert continued to applaud sarcastically for Seto while walking towards him. "Well down my friend. Well done indeed. You managed to reduce six grown men to tears and I think one even wet himself. What do you have to say to such an achievement?" Robert placed his hands on the edge of the table next to Seto as the latter sank into his chair in something akin to despair, a state few saw Seto Kaiba in.

Seto groaned in sadness as Roland came in to see if Kaiba needed anything, but Seto just spun his chair around and sank deeper into it, letting out another groan. Seeing how Mr. Kaiba was currently predisposed, Roland turned to Robert whom still seemed in his right mind and un-depressed. "Do either of you require anything?" Robert nodded and stood back up straightening his tie before turning back to Roland. "Yes please Roland. Could you kindly file away these unsigned contracts and send someone in to clean this table up please? And tell my Driver downstairs to warm up the Limo please. Could you also get Mr. Kaiba an aspirin and a glass of water? Thank you." Roland nodded and walked over to the stack of unsigned and ignored contracts and picked it up before carrying it out. A moment later two maids entered and placed the glass of water and the pills down next to Kaiba's chair before clearing away the debris on the table. Once that was done Robert helped Kaiba back to his desk chair and placed the glass of water and pills on his desk. He opened the window a crack and let the cool night air flow in.

Robert turned back to Seto to find him recovering from his despair ever so slightly but the pills were as of yet untaken. "What's happened back there Seto? One minute your calmly listening to Mr. Hashimoto make his little corporate unity speech and the next your acting like someone just ran over Mokuba. Was it something he or someone else said?" Seto nodded slowly but Robert still had a puzzled look on his face, a rare thing, so Seto pressed a button and brought up a monitor showing the security footage of Mister Hashimoto's speech and the last few lines. _"Through these contracts we can ensure corporate stability. Through corporate stability we can ensure corporate unity. And through corporate unity we can ensure corporate serenity."_ The monitor turned off and suddenly Robert understood. Serenity, as in Serenity Wheeler, whom had broken up with Seto no less than two years ago, and crushed the spirit of the great dragon. Robert walked over and sat down after pouring two cups of Coffee and giving one to Seto.

"Now I get it. Serenity, your still not over her. And this shatters any denials you had about said statement. Seto go talk to her, patch things up, stop scaring away profit." Seto knew Robert was right, he did still like Serenity, no still loved Serenity but it seemed that it was not reciprocal anymore, all from a big mistake. And he was scaring away profit, for in the last year Kaiba Corporation had lost no less than 55 major investors and was number 23 in the market. And this hurt Barry Industries as well due to all the contracts it had with Kaiba Corporation, dropping B.I. to number 10 and costing it 20 investors. Robert continued his little speech. "Seto at this rate, your mood swings will just get worse and sooner or later you'll have to file for bankruptcy and if you do I'll have to as well! Now describe what you've been feeling since becoming single again?" Seto downed the entire cup of coffee in one gulp as he set it down. He remained silent for a few moments as Robert slapped the desk. "Damnit Seto! Your doing everything you can to try and win her back! Having $5,000 Checks mailed to the Wheelers monthly! Sending her Academic GPA Ratings to all those Colleges!" Robert was listing everything Seto had done within the past year to try and get Serenity back. "And yet, you don't let her know its you. Why?"

"I really cant say! One minute I'll be as calm and docile as a cat and the next I'll be as fury filled as well, you. I don't tell her because I don't want to scare her off." Robert quirked an eyebrow, when someone was able to be as angry as he could be it was a world record. Seto went on. "And then I'll be reduced to a moping wretch and then a babbling fool when I realize I've missed a chance to get her back again. Tell me this, have you ever felt this way Robert? The way I am feeling?" Robert nodded slowly but surely as his mind wandered to his beautiful girlfriend Angeline whom he planned to propose to after Senior Year. "Of course! You've found love and ways to keep it! I feel so angry I just wanna-!" Seto was at a loss for words as Robert finished his sentence while Seto clenched his fists in anger.

"Smash my head into the desk in jealousy? Throw me out the window in remorse? Shoot me? Seto, whilst threatening such actions would have little chance of succeeding against me. Now Seto I can tell you this, when I first met Angeline I was reduced to a bumbling, babbling, baboon trying every which way I could to win her heart. Then after I won her love I realized one very important thing." Seto leaned forward listening intently in case this was his one true shot to get Serenity back. "I realized that there is no one true way to find love or obtain it. I found that out through much stress and a near kidnapping." Seto's hopes were dashed away as his face fell.

"That doesn't help me Robert. Not in the slightest bit possible in any reality does that help. Serenity made me feel so happy and warm in a way no one else ever did. Not my parents, not Mokuba, no one. She made me see the world in the new light. I was kinder, I was more generous with her." Robert nodded silently, Seto certainly was more preferable in that state to his current state. "And we weren't losing so much profit." Seto added that part solely so his friend could agree not because he cared about the profit in any which way. Robert had literally been raised on a bed of cash so his natural reaction to money was determined by whether he gaining or losing.

"Well you certainly were more likeable when you were with her. A lot less mean, nasty, scary, cold, cruel, unforgiving, merciless, obtrusive, loud-" Seto cut his friend off there with a hand gesture and to show he got the point. Seto sighed in despair as he fell deeper into said state. Nothing would seem right in the world to him ever again, not unless by some miracle Serenity took him back and that was not likely to happen. Not after what he did to Duke and to her image of his new moral sense. Seto put his head in his hands and sighed again. "She'll never forget what I did to Duke. I saw something in her eyes that day, it was fear Robert. Fear of me, that I would hurt her!"

Robert took a sip of the coffee cup and shrugged like people being afraid of Seto was not unordinary. "Well to be fair, what you did to Devlin put him in the Hospital in a coma for a week, awake but still hospitalized for two weeks, on crutches for a week, and then still with a headache for three days. And you threatened to make sure I was hospitalized if I didn't run his company into the ground prior to that. However when Serenity ran off you did receive quite the whopper from Joey." Seto winced and rubbed a hand over his eye where Joey's fist had connected with his face. Seto sighed as he realized it was no use trying to fight the depression. It would just come back.

Robert bolted up and smirked for he had suddenly got an idea to snap Seto out of it. Seto was puzzled at this as his friend yanked him to his feet. "Alright Seto, I know one thing that should snap you out of it. A Duel! Lets go down to the KC Arena and have a good duel." Kaiba didn't know how but in a matter of minutes he found himself in the elevator riding down to the Duel Arena where he had first faced Yugi all those years ago.

Seto wasn't in his usual smug state as they rode down to the Arena. He didn't even take out his deck yet because he was still depressed from a broken heart. Who knew his heart existed in the first place. Before when Seto was preparing for a duel his typical stance was crossed arms and a smug smirk and now his stance was drooping. This was not the best sign of recovery known to be seen. It wasn't a sign at all just a symptom of continued depression.

Once they arrived they each took up a position at the two ends of the Arena. Seto at the North End of the Arena and Robert at the South End as each placed their deck in position and drew the first five cards. "LET'S DUEL!" Kaiba drew his card first and smirked. "I'll start off with my mighty Vorse Raider in Attack Mode!" The Holographic Projector blinked and whirled before the massive Hologram of the Vorse Raider came into view and grinned evilly at Robert whom simply grinned that Seto still had his Dueling Spirit. Seto then selected two cards from his hand and placed them on the field. "Next I'll place two cards face-down and end my turn. Your move."

However Robert's assumption that Seto still had his Dueling Spirit was soon dashed away as the Duel progressed. Unlike his first move which was a very good start, his following moves were awful and amateur, Robert believed, dare he even think it, that even Joey Wheeler could have beat Kaiba in this state. Seto activated his Crush Card too soon and had it reversed on him devastating his Deck. Then when he used Monster Reborn to bring back his Blue-Eyes White Dragon, it was quickly destroyed, along with the rest of Seto's Lifepoints. All in all, the final count was, Robert: 4000 and Seto: 0000.

The moment the loudspeaker announced in its mechanical voice. "Duel has ended. Victor is Robert Barry." Seto fell to his knees and looked at his cards like he had never dueled before in his life. He spoke to himself in a whisper. "What's wrong with me? Even my dueling isn't what it normally is. Did she really affect me that much? I need to know for sure." Seto slowly and shakily got up and began to walk down from the Dueling Platform and towards the doors. He didn't even bother retrieving his cards from the field and this was definitely unlike him. Seto treasured that Deck like he did his brother.

When he reached the doors he pushed them open and quickly crossed the lobby to the main doors of the building as the Secretary looked at her boss puzzled. Seto turned back to her before he exited the building and spoke in a calm voice. "I'll be gone till morning Marsha, feel free to close up whenever its convenient. Good night." The Secretary was taken aback by such a calm statement and stumbled in her reply. "G-Good Night Mr. Kaiba." Upon saying so Marsha dumped her coffee into a plant saying it was making her hear things, the doorman, Oliver, did the same thing moments later once Kaiba had exited the building into the cold brittle night.

Marsha turned to Robert in an attempt to see if he could explain why Mr. Kaiba was suddenly being kind to his employees all of a sudden. "Excuse me Mr. Barry but is Mr. Kaiba experiencing any mental instability at the moment?" Robert shrugged as he had no explanation to give her at the moment.

Kaiba stuck his hands into the pockets of one of his trademark trenchcoats that he was wearing and began to walk through the streets of Domino City. There were few pedestrians out and few cars too, this confused Seto until he pulled out his phone and realized it was 1:05 AM in the morning, every sensible person was asleep. Key word sensible, there were the odd houses here and there were the occupants were still up watching the Japan vs. USA Baseball Game that was being played down in Tokyo. Seto did not know exactly how but he found himself in the Domino City Park and wandered around it aimlessly. He looked around at the tree's blooming with flowers of every color and size, swaying slowly in the breeze. He found his attention drawn to the squirrels eagerly picking nuts up off the ground and rushing back to their little holes. Seto didn't know what to do or where he was going, he just knew that he was going. And soon he found himself nearing the exit of the park, he had seen no one but the squirrels and the Birds in the park tonight. And he wished it were different and that a certain someone was walking in the park tonight.

He found himself wandering all the way to the Boardwalk where he and Serenity had spent many happy moments together when they were still together. This only furthered Kaiba's descent to greater sadness.

* * *

"Come on, Come on! YES! HE'S SAFE!" Joey Wheeler shouted loudly along with Tristan Taylor, Duke Devlin, and oddly enough Mai Valentine as they watched the America/Japan Game on the new TV Set the Wheelers bought. Someone had been sending them a check every month filled with $5,000 each time for the last two years. Joey and Serenity had gone around asking their friends first but they denied with the sheer truth that none of them had that kind of money. Then they asked Robert Barry but he gave them a simple and plain answer of "Joey, Serenity, I may feel sorry for the soul-stealing and kidnapping but its not enough to make me pay you in money." And they really knew he was telling the truth, Barry had already made amends for the Theft of Joey's Soul and Kidnapping Serenity by having the Construction Branch of his company build them a new home and gave them money to furnish it however they wanted, as well as financed Joey's Mechanic Shop so now he and Tristan weren't the only ones there and Joey had five other people working for him. Serenity and Joey didn't dare go to ask Seto Kaiba as that was still a rather touchy subject for Serenity so they went to Mokuba but he declined as well. They were left at a dead end, after the fourth month they just decided to accept it.

Life had been going well for all of them so far and in recent times it just seemed to get better for them. Joey, Mai, Tristan, and Duke were in their Senior Year about to graduate and leave Domino High School, of course the Summer Vacation still had four weeks to go before it officially ended. Thanks to Kaiba, Joey had been able to setup his Mechanic Shop near the end of Junior Year and Mai was able to open her Beauty Salon and thanks to Kaiba she had expanded it so she had twenty other girls working for and with her. Tristan was Joey's partner in the Mechanic Business and was being offered a scholarship to Yale. Duke's Business was thriving, Dungeon Dice Monsters had recently come to Europe and Duke had made a fortune in it. Serenity was being offered a scholarship by Oxford, Yale, Harvard, MIT, Tokyo University, London University, and Kobe Tech, even though she was only a Junior but she had a perfect 5.0 GPA and multiple Community Service Programs and ran a number of the School's Fundraisers. Yes life was good.

The cause for the four friends cries of enthusiasm was the fact that the Batter for the American Team had just made a triple hitter and landed third base safe. Joey punched the air in excitement. "Awesome! They haven't played this well since I was a kid!" Tristan saw an opportunity for a little joke. He turned to Joey with a grin. "Oh so they havent played this well for about a year or two?" Joey turned and shook his fist at him. "Watch it you. Or I'll knock your teeth from here to LA." Tristan backed up a bit at that comment and reached over to the table and grabbed a soda can, Dr. Pepper. He cracked it open and took a long swig of the drink no noticing that Serenity had come downstairs having thrown a pink bathrobe over her pajama's and stomping over to behind where Joey and Mai were cuddled up.

Serenity's usually soft and flowing auburn hair was wildly tangled and brittle and she had bags under her eyes. She had crossed her arms and began tapping her foot annoyed at the noise which kept her from sleeping. She waited a few more seconds before she exploded. "JOESEPH WHEELER! DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS! PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP! AND SO AM I! I HAVE A JOB INTERVIEW TOMORROW AND YOUR KEEPING ME UP ALL NIGHT!" Joey jumped two feet in the air at her loud and angry voice as Tristan choked on the swig of Soda he was taking and Duke fell off the couch. Mai remained unaffected by the shouting, probably because she shouted like that a lot herself.

Joey picked himself up off the floor rubbing his head in slight pain. "Ren! Sorry! But whad'cha have ta go an' do that for?" Serenity didn't have to say words, the look did her talking for her. Joey scrambled up and rubbed his hands together nervously as Serenity kept her arms crossed and her foot continued to tap away. "Um, right sorry! I'll get these two outa here and let you get back to sleep." He quickly hoisted Tristan and Duke up by their collars and marched them to the door, with the two of them continuing to protest. "Get outa here!" Tristan and Duke huffed and then began to walk in separate directions to their homes.

Joey turned back to Serenity and Mai nervously, Serenity pointed to the stairs and Joey got the hint as he hurried to them and up them straight to his room where he dashed inside and closed the door. Serenity sighed and walked around the couch before sitting down next to Mai and grabbing a handful of popcorn from the bowl on the table. She downed it in but a few bites, similar to what Joey could do. "You know Mai, sometimes I wonder if Joey will ever grow up." Mai laughed as she took a swig of her Coke and then turned to Serenity. "don't we all hun."

Mai could tell something else was on Serenity's mind and it wasn't the job interview. Mai had learned to read Serenity like a book. They were like sisters and if Joey worked up enough guts they might end up being that. "Something on your mind hun? And don't tell me its that Job Interview because that will be the easiest interview in the world cause your applying for a job at Yugi and his Grandpa's Game Shop." She took a good hard look at Serenity's features before sighing. "Its him again isn't it." Serenity nodded slowly as she expressed no emotion while Mai continued talking. "Hun you have to let him go and get over him already. Its been a whole two years already! And he hasn't even tried to approach you himself."

Serenity shook her head in vain as she tried to clear her head. "I know but I just cant help it Mai. We spent too much time together that I could get him out of my head just like that! I don't know what to do!" Mai put an arm around Serenity's shoulders and tried to calm her down. She guessed it wasn't easy what she was going through. After all she and Kaiba had started dating when Serenity was a Freshman and Kaiba a Sophomore. Mai suddenly had an idea of how to get Serenity happy again.

Mai got up and walked over to the Bookshelf near the couch and crouched down looking for one specific book. She soon found what she was looking for. A Photo Album labeled, Serenity's Memories, which Mai picked up off the shelf and walked back over to the couch and put it on the table. "Hun, if you cant get him out of your head then embrace it. Remember the good not the bad." Serenity nodded and opened up to the first of the four Chapters devoted entirely to her and Seto. All the memories began to come flooding back to her as she looked at the pictures of her and the one she loved.

There was one of Seto putting his Trenchcoat over her to protect her from the rain in the park when she had forgot to bring her umbrella. And another of the two of them having ice cream together as they walked down the street. Another of a candlelit picnic out in the garden of the Kaiba Mansion. A few funny photo's too and some serious ones, all of them were memories of the past and her three wonderful years with Seto. Mai kept an arm around Serenities Shoulder and then spoke to her in a soft and gentle tone to keep Serenity calm. "You know, you and Kaiba actually had a lot of good memories in those three years. The rest of us never knew Kaiba could be so soft and gentle with someone other than Mokuba for a change."

Serenity smiled at one photo of her and Seto standing hand in hand with her head on his shoulder as they watched the sunset over the ocean. "Yeah, the reason for that was he never let anyone else in to know him yet back then like in Duelist Kingdom or Battle City. Don't judge a book by its cover. Judge it by what's written in the pages." Mai smiled a bit at Serenity's self-proclaimed analogy about people. And she was right of course, the rest of them except Yugi had seen Kaiba as an obstacle they needed to get past. Mai even saw him as that in both DK and BC which might be why she didn't get invited to compete in the KC Grand Championship, but at least Robert held a tournament for Duelists around the globe and invited Mai, but it wasn't the same.

"Well Serenity its getting late and you'd better get back to sleep if you want to be ready for that interview." Serenity smiled and nodded, gave her possible future sister-in law a hug and then climbed the stairs back to her room. Mai delegated to sleep on the couch seeing as Joey was probably already asleep. Since moving back to Domino City she had been staying with Serenity and Joey since she had no family to turn to and Joey was drop dead in love with her. And the families were likewise for Mai. Joey was funny and cute and brave all at the same time. He may be a bit goofy now and then but everybody is now and then. "Oh well, I'll think about that stuff in the morning." With that she drew a blanket over herself and laid her head on a couch pillow.

And with that the Wheeler Residence went to sleep.

* * *

"Good night Roland, please call me when Seto returns to the Kaiba Mansion, I'm worried about my friend these days." Robert was bidding Roland good night as he left the Kaiba Corporation Building after having retrieved all his papers from Seto's Office, papers yet unsigned. Robert sighed as he climbed into the back of his Limo and before leaving called one more thing to Roland who was locking up the Building. "And Roland, tell Mokuba to have some aspirin and coffee waiting for Seto. I think he'll need it. The aspirin so he doesn't have a mood swing in the night and the coffee because he decided to wander the city when its 50* out." Roland nodded and with that Robert closed the door and gave Klaus directions to head to Barry Industries Island, he was returning to his Corporate Tower not his home. Thanks to Seto failing to sign the contracts he now had a boat load of work to do. Late afternoon wakeup here comes Robert. He sighed as he told Klaus to start driving.

* * *

It was nigh on 2:00 AM when Seto returned to the Kaiba Mansion, tired and worn out from the long walk around the city. He had found peace and staved off the mood swings for now. But just how long could he keep his mind intact. How long could he stave off the madness as he sank deeper and deeper into the shadows. So long as Serenity hated him, he would just keep on going until he was, as they say in Britain, "mad as a march hare".

As Seto was walking through the darkened foyer he heard a squeak on one of the floorboards. Seto sighed in exasperation. "Mokuba I know your there. We will talk in the morning. Go back to bed." The lights came on revealing a confused Mokuba standing in front of Seto, wearing pajama's. He was really confused, he didn't want to talk to Seto about anything. He knew about the whole Serenity situation already and had already tried and failed too many times to keep pestering him about it.

"Um...Seto I just wanted to remind you that you promised to take me to KaibaLand tomorrow so we can check on my new rides I designed. Remember, you promised me just two days ago. I want to see how my rides are doing. Also Robert called and told me to give you a mug of coffee and some aspirin so here they are." Mokuba put the two pills in one of Seto's hands and the mug of hot coffee in the other hand. "Good night Seto." With that Mokuba yawned and walked back up to bed.

Seto sighed, even his brother was ready to give up on him. From his point of view in his state he thought everyone was ready to give up on him.


End file.
